How companies tailor their marketing to Hispanics to boost sales
When NxStage Medical Inc. realized that Spanish-speaking people made up 15 percent of the market for its home kidney dialysis equipment, the Massachusetts company created a website and brochures printed in Spanish.
NxStage, which started its marketing campaign to Hispanics a year ago, has also increased its staff of Spanish-speaking customer service agents.
Hispanics also have enormous buying power — $1.4 trillion, according to an estimate by market research company Nielsen.
Smart companies go beyond ad campaigns; they’re hiring Hispanic employees, said Cid Wilson, president of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, an organization trying to increase Hispanic employment in U.S. companies.
“Companies that don’t embrace Hispanic inclusion run the risk of being labeled a company that does not embrace diversity, and they might make a mistake in how they market to our community,” Wilson said.
In a survey of 150 marketing executives, 55 percent said they don’t have the support of their CEOs for multicultural marketing programs, and 60 percent said they don’t have the support of their boards of directors.
[...] sensitivity to the Hispanic population led companies including Macy’s and Spanish-language TV network Univision to end their relationships with GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump after his comments about Mexican immigrants.
The company began installing signs in Spanish in its stores in Pennsylvania in 2009, and created brochures in Spanish after consulting with a community college professor to get the correct phrasing.
About 20 percent of Budding’s customers are Hispanic business owners, including landscapers, general contractors and masons, said Hoyt Bangs, the website manager.
The Hispanic customer base has grown through word-of-mouth advertising that has also helped Budding build a business shipping its products to Mexico.